Wallaroos eye first-ever win over NZ

Adrian Warren
October 17, 2016, 12:41 pm

Never mind the Wallabies' Eden Park drought, the Wallaroos will still be seeking their first-ever women's rugby Test win over New Zealand when they play in Saturday's Bledisloe curtain-raiser in Auckland.

They have lost all 13 of their Tests against New Zealand, who they will play twice on a whirlwind three-match tour.

A warm up match against an Auckland representative side on Tuesday will be followed by the Test at Eden Park on Saturday and a second Test in Auckland four days later. P

The odds appear stacked against the Wallaroos, who haven't played a Test since the 2014 World Cup, while New Zealand have had several matches.

"Zero from 13 (against New Zealand) , but I feel like our team is developing every day," Wallaroos captain and five-eighth-fullback Ashleigh Hewson said.

'We've had good preparation. We've definitely got the talent to beat this team or give it a good crack."

.Hewson isn't jealous of the large amount of exposure the Australian women's sevens side has had since their recent gold medal triumph in Rio, believing the traditional form of the women's game will also benefit.

"All credit to them, but we definitely wouldn't be envious. It's definitely going to assist us I think in the long run," Hewson said.

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika said it was a natural progression for the Wallaroos to play in a curtain-raiser before his team

"The girls who are contributing more and more into their craft are getting recognition by getting the opportunity to play on the big stage," Cheika said.

Hewson and coach Paul Verrell are optimistic the Wallaroos will play more regular Tests, though the volume could depend on budgetary issues.

'"Hopefully we can get more Test matches under our belt and it will definitely make us more successful in the future," Hewson said, pointing out the leading northern hemisphere teams have the advantage of their own Six Nations tournament.

.Verrell would welcome the return of sevens players back into his program

'If they come on board I'd like to have them for a longer period of time just to adjust their training and conditioning-wise," Verrell said

Palmyra and Western Force Women's backrower Vesinia Schaaf-Tatufa has been named for her Test debut in the Buildcorp Wallaroos team to play the Black Ferns in an historic Test at Eden Park on Saturday as the Wallaroos look to register their first win against their trans-tasman rivals.